Blood Kin

by Matt Hilton

  Before they were beyond the city limits she had brought up the schematic map of the decommissioned National Guard training encampment sold to Eldon Moorcock, and alongside it a satellite view of how the camp appeared recently. She wished that she had access to real-time satellite footage, where she fancied she would be able to zoom right down to where Elspeth and her son were being held, to see the tears on their cheeks, and somehow imbue through the satellite’s beam that they needn’t despair as help was coming. Juxtaposing the satellite imagery over the schematics, it was apparent that some of the old military installations had disappeared, or that they had been reconstructed for other uses, their arrangements added to or adjusted. A number of new buildings had been erected, and she assumed that these were the private dwellings of the community’s elite. A parade ground served as a town square and parking lot. Acres of land had been tilled and sown with crops, and an orchard took up land that was once a firing range. On the schematic map, she noted several dotted lines, and thought they must be designated trails through the woods to outlying structures, but most must have fallen out of use because there was nothing that corresponded with them on the aerial view.

  Something else that was apparent: there was no way of identifying the individual properties to who lived there, so they couldn’t determine Caleb’s house from any of the rest. Neither was there an obvious location where Elspeth and Jacob could be held as the choice was too wide. There were domiciles, hangars and huts, even something that looked as if it might be a subterranean bunker capable of withstanding a nuclear blast. At a loss, she stretched the satellite view to get a better idea of the terrain and possible approach routes. A river and one of its tributaries contained most of the commune’s northern and eastern borders. To the west the ground swept up to a series of forested hills at the hinterland of the High Peaks Wilderness. Access from the south was denied by a long, narrow lake called Booger Pond. She pinched and zoomed the view along the river and found a single bridge, the only way in or out of the commune by road. A few miles to the northeast a small town named Muller Falls was the commune’s nearest neighboring settlement.

  ‘Did either of you guys pack your gumboots?’ she asked.

  ‘What’s that about gumboots?’ Po turned to see her.

  ‘From what I can make out we are either going to get wet or we’re going to have to learn how to scale mountains.’ She indicated the map on her laptop, and Po frowned at her for clarity. ‘There’s one way in, across a river bridge, and if they’re the secretive bunch Elspeth told us about, the Moorcocks will probably have it guarded. A lake and some rugged mountains protect the community’s other borders.’

  ‘You’re all for us making an incursion of the commune?’ Po asked, surprised.

  ‘Tell me there’s anything else on your mind other than sneaking in and I’ll suspect you’re lying,’ she said.

  ‘You don’t think it’s a good idea?’

  ‘I think we could do with some evidence that Elspeth and Jacob were taken back there before we do anything.’

  ‘How do you suggest we get the evidence without sneaking in?’

  ‘Yeah, that’s the dilemma.’ She placed her laptop down on the seat beside her, reached between the seats and grasped Po’s arm. She squeezed gently. ‘Promise me you won’t go charging in until we at least have some idea where Elspeth and Jacob are.’

  ‘It won’t pay us to rush in blind,’ he admitted. ‘Especially if we’ve just waded across a river.’

  ‘Getting a little wet doesn’t deter Pinky Leclerc,’ Pinky interjected. ‘Y’all know, I can swim like a fish, me!’

  ‘No disrespect, bra, but if there’s any sneakin’ inside to be done I think it should be done by me.’

  ‘You doubt my skills, Nicolas? I can move like a ninja, me, as stealthy as a shadow and as deadly as a cottonmouth. Wassa!’ He emitted the Bruce Lee-style war cry and chopped the air with the side of a hand.

  Po grunted in mirth. It was Pinky’s desired response. But then he wasn’t totally kidding either, and from past experience he’d shown his abilities in several life-or-death situations they’d gotten into together.

  ‘Don’t laugh, or I’ll be forced to hit you with the one finger of death!’ Pinky rolled all but his middle finger into his palm, and flipped Po the bird.

  ‘Put that away, will ya, I don’t know where it’s been,’ said Po, and had to avert his face when Pinky aimed the wiggling tip of his finger at his mouth. Po play-chopped it aside with his hand. The men laughed like a couple of schoolboys. ‘Keep your eyes on the road, and your hands on the wheel, whydon’tcha?’

  Tess shook her head at their antics. ‘The priority is getting Elspeth and Jacob safely away from her husband. If we can do that silently then that’s best for all of us; if there’s any karate chopping to be done it’s best saved for afterwards.’

  ‘Anywhere on those maps that give a clue where they could be?’ Po asked.

  ‘There are too many hiding spots to pinpoint one.’

  ‘How’s that trick going with the cell phone signal?’

  ‘It isn’t.’

  Ordinarily Tess could access a program via Emma Clancy’s computers, through which she could triangulate a cell phone’s location. This time she had not been granted access because she hadn’t enquired. Agreeing to Elspeth’s plea that the police weren’t informed of her plight, Tess couldn’t take the problem to her soon-to-be sister-in-law. Emma Clancy’s specialist inquiry firm was not only Tess’s frequent employer, but its manager was also her brother Alex’s fiancée. Tess could have asked Emma to keep their search for Elspeth and Jacob between them for now, but that would compromise not only their relationship, but also Emma’s with Alex. Also, through her position serving the Portland district attorney’s office, Emma was as equally duty-bound to report the suspicions regarding the Moorcock family’s criminal activities as Alex was as a cop.

  ‘I tried ringing her cell a few more times this morning,’ Tess explained, ‘and got the same recorded message as before. It has been switched off, perhaps broken in pieces. I think that Elspeth ditched her phone not long after she left our house.’

  ‘More like it was smashed by Caleb after he took her.’

  ‘Who can say?’

  Minutes later they had passed through Scarborough and followed the highway towards Saco, passing the amusement park where Caleb had indeed found and destroyed Elspeth’s only lifeline to rescue. Earlier the tinkling remnants of her cell phone had been crushed under the tires of some of the first customers to arrive at the park. It was still early in the day as they drove past, but the park had thrown open its gates and already kids were riding the water flumes and other attractions, whooping and screaming in delight as they made the most of the late-summer warmth. None of them could suspect how close they had come to where the prisoners had been transferred to the van for the long journey to the commune, and as it were, their chosen paths wouldn’t cross again for most of the day: Pinky got off US-1 at the next turnpike, taking them overland to join the Maine Turnpike for a faster, smoother ride.

  Pinky drove the first leg of the journey, and handed over the reins at Lebanon, near the state lines of New Hampshire and Vermont. Po took the next stint, holding on until they were north of Saratoga Springs, where he pulled into a gas station at a small town on the shore of Lake George, where they refueled the vehicle and also purchased snacks and coffee at the adjoining convenience store. He drove the short distance to the lakeside and they sat beside the water to eat and drink.

  ‘I’m still good for the rest of the way,’ Po announced as they prepared to get under way once more, but Tess had grown bored and antsy in the back. She held out her hand for the keys and he reluctantly handed them over.

  ‘We should arrive in Muller Falls within the next hour or two,’ Tess announced to her companions. ‘It’s going to be late afternoon by then, so I took the liberty of booking us rooms at a hotel in town.’

  ‘We should go direct to the commune,’ Po s
aid.

  ‘And do what? Rattle the gates and demand that they bring out Elspeth and Jacob? How do you think that will go?’

  ‘The longer they’re in there, the longer they have to endure whatever that sadistic son of a bitch puts them through,’ Po replied.

  ‘I know, but we have to plan how we’re going to approach this, Po. We can’t just try sneaking in and hoping for the best. Eldon Moorcock has built a private militia, and they’re supposedly keen on expressing their second amendment rights. Catching us sneaking in they might choose to shoot first and ask questions later.’

  ‘Do they have a castle doctrine in New York State?’ he asked.

  ‘I’m unsure.’ He was referring to an individual’s right to defend their person and property, permissible in some US states. In Maine there was a duty to retreat from using lethal force when one could do so with absolute safety; Tess was unsure if the same rule applied in New York. Of course, persons engaged in criminal activity didn’t usually abide by rules. It was more likely that Moorcock’s people would shoot them, dispose of their bodies and then close ranks, so the legality of their shootings would never come into question. ‘If it’s OK with you I’d rather not put it to the test.’

  ‘Are you armed, y’know, should things grow a bit hot?’

  ‘No.’ Tess was licensed to carry a firearm, but was loathe doing so. Her grandfather’s old service pistol was in a secure lockbox back at the ranch. Po didn’t carry a gun, but she’d bet his knife was tucked in the concealed pouch in his high-topped boots; this was not simply a weapon, he’d claimed, but a multi-purpose tool. In the past he had used it in both ways.

  Pinky was unusually tight-lipped.

  ‘You packing, podna?’ Po asked.

  ‘I gave up the illegal arms trade,’ he reminded them, then flashed a sly grin, and thumbed towards the trunk, ‘but I might have held onto a couple of keepsakes, me.’

  ‘You know it’s illegal to transport certain types of weapons over state lines, yeah?’ said Tess.

  ‘I won’t tell if you don’t,’ said Pinky with a grandiose wink.

  ‘Your secret’s safe with me, bra,’ said Po.

  Tess groaned into her palms, her fingertips digging into her forehead. ‘You guys …’

  ‘Face it, Tess,’ said Po, ‘it’s inevitable we’re gonna come into conflict with the Moorcocks before we’re done, and if they’re packin’ heat we should be too.’

  ‘Or we keep our sensible heads on, treat this as an evidence-gathering mission, then hand it over to law enforcement to act upon.’

  ‘Didn’t you say that Eldon Moorcock has most of the local cops on his payroll?’

  ‘I said no such thing. Elspeth might’ve mentioned something along those lines, but who’s to say she’s right? Some people have a dim view of the police, and think they’re all corrupt bullies out to get them. It might be true of a few bad apples, but the majority of law enforcement officers are good people trying to do their best to serve. I don’t believe Eldon Moorcock has an entire police force doing his bidding, and besides, if we uncover something big then I’ll hand over the evidence to the feds.’

  ‘It’s unsurprising that you’d have a different view of the cops,’ said Po.

  ‘I thought by now your perception would’ve changed,’ she challenged.

  Pinky rocked his head, ‘Must say, I get stop-checked by Portland PD more than your average citizen does.’

  ‘Pinky, you’ve changed your ways, but it stands to reason the cops were a bit suspicious about your relocation to Maine and have checked out your rap sheet. When Nicolas first moved north, he was treated similarly.’ She switched her attention to Po. ‘Can you say the same now?’

  ‘Nope. The local cops know me now, and it has helped keep the heat off me by havin’ you as my partner. But this’ – he wagged a finger between him and Tess – ‘won’t mean a damn thing to some hick cops out in the sticks.’

  Tess couldn’t really argue. Not when she had no proof one way or the other about the integrity of Muller Falls PD. It was possible that Eldon was paying off a dirty cop to turn a blind eye to his activities, but an entire police department? She recalled her fears for Pinky last night, when imagining how some of her ex-colleagues might’ve perceived things if they came across him trying to coax a frightened woman and child into his car, and how he might end up face down on the sidewalk with guns pointed at his head, or worse. Perceptions could be wrong, and fed by bias, and even otherwise good people could make terrible mistakes. Po was probably right, and the MFPD avoided as best they could.

  As they returned to the GMC, Po called shotgun. Pinky was happy with the arrangement, and settled himself across the expansive back seat, hands steepled on his midriff, ankles crossed in the footwell, and his head propped against the opposite side window. He smiled indolently, reminiscent of a big friendly bear in a kids’ cartoon show. ‘So, pretty Tess, what you said back there, you … does that mean I’ve attained a level of fame, seeing as my reputation precedes me?’

  ‘A level of infamy, more like,’ said Po.

  ‘Aah, so that’s why I keep getting pulled over, they’ve all got it infamy?’

  ‘Geez, Pinky,’ Tess chuckled. ‘It’s more like they’re after you because of your crimes against comedy. That joke was old back in the 1960s.’

  SEVENTEEN

  Lined of face, and bent through years of manual labor, Ellie-May Moorcock looked a decade older than her actual sixty-five years, but she was still a formidable woman. The commune was run under the patriarchy of her husband, but her house was her domain, and she its matriarch. Of all the chambers in the large house, the kitchen was her throne room, and she presided over it with surly dominance, and with an archaic pipe nipped between her teeth. By all appearances she looked a century out of date, but then so was her husband’s ways when it came to raising his family, both his blood kin and those within the wider community. Eldon was seated at the head of the table, but that was a matter of opinion when she sat opposite him. Her adult sons occupied three of the other chairs, while a fourth sat empty, once designated for when Jacob came of age, but now his position in the family’s hierarchy was in question. Darrell and Randolph sat shoulder to shoulder, while Caleb, the eldest son, sat opposite them. The table was heaped with food that Ellie-May had prepared, and it displeased her that it was being ignored by the menfolk as they bragged and bickered. Ellie-May puffed vigorously on her pipe, caring less that her smoke polluted the atmosphere; worse to her was the bad language seeping from the menfolk. Had they forgotten that she didn’t tolerate cursing in her kitchen?

  She thumped a fist on the table, making the crockery rattle. All eyes turned on her. ‘Soup’s going cold,’ she growled. ‘Get eating, unless you want me to say grace first?’

  Randolph, the youngest of her brood, grabbed for his spoon and began ladling soup to his mouth. The others weren’t as fast to take the hint – they had more to talk and disagree about considering they were directly involved with Caleb’s jaunt to Maine, whereas Randy had been kept out of the loop. She thumped the table again, and this time caught her husband’s eye.

  ‘I didn’t stand over that kettle for hours for you to let my food go cold,’ she said. ‘Can’t you keep this discussion for later and let our boys eat?’

  Eldon stroked his long white mustache, pinching and tugging it, while he returned her look. Finally his eyes crinkled, and he offered her a smile. ‘We can eat and talk,’ he said, enforcing his control over his decision, but also to please Ellie-May. ‘C’mon boys, eat up.’

  ‘And no more cussing,’ Ellie-May added.

  ‘Sorry, Ma,’ said Caleb, ‘I’ve been away for a few days and had to fit in with outsiders. I shouldn’t carry their bad language back here.’

  ‘Speak however you want, son, just not in my hearing.’ She puffed on her pipe, as if in defiance of her own wish they’d eat.

  Caleb supped down two spoonfuls of thick vegetable soup. Then he pointed his spoon at Darrell and said,
‘What you waitin’ for?’

  Darrell ignored the food; he spoke directly to his father. ‘Caleb isn’t concerned but I think we should prepare for a visit from the cops. Those people that sheltered Elspeth, a business card was found in Elspeth’s pocket and it turns out the woman’s a private investigator.’

  ‘Yeah, and Po’boy Villere’s a convicted killer,’ Caleb countered. ‘So what? They have no idea what happened to Elspeth last night, and as far as they know she hopped on a Greyhound bus and left Portland in its rearview mirror. They’ve no reason to believe I grabbed her and fetched her home. Hell, if Elspeth has any sense, she won’t have told them where home is.’

  ‘You attracted unwanted attention,’ Eldon stated.

  ‘That’s not true, Pa,’ Caleb replied. He aimed his spoon across the table at Darrell and sighted down it as if it was a gun. ‘They had no idea I was in town. I got within twenty feet of Po’boy and he hadn’t a clue I was this close to killing him. Pow!’

  ‘You could’ve killed him but didn’t.’ Eldon settled a stern look on Caleb for an uncomfortable length of time. ‘Maybe there’s still an ounce of sense in that hot head of yours after all, Caleb. Shooting this guy would’ve ensured a murder inquiry and a manhunt that’d lead right back to our door. Well done for restraining your urge.’

  ‘I’d’ve killed the others too. There wouldn’t have been anyone left alive to point their finger here.’

  ‘Do you actually hear yourself, Caleb? Pa was being sarcastic just now.’ Darrell shook his head in disbelief and knuckled the side of his head. ‘You called me a bloodthirsty son of a gun, but you’re the one with something wrong up here.’